1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a polymer pallet leg for a cardboard pallet base, and more particularly, pertains to a process and apparatus for using a plurality of polymer pallet legs for supporting a cardboard pallet base, usually a corrugated cardboard sheet to form a pallet support system. A pallet base insert is also provided for a pallet base and for a polymer pallet leg.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With environmental concerns, wooden pallets have become undesirable because of the problems of disposing of wooden pallets, the cost of wooden pallets, and most importantly, landfills not accepting wooden pallets as wooden pallets are not environmentally recyclable. Wooden pallets quickly fill up a landfill, do not degrade promptly and generally have become a burden upon the ecological society because of the filling up landfills with bulky substance. Further, wooden pallets cause the destruction of trees which is also not feasible from an ecological standpoint.
Prior art polymer pallet legs such as that in U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,099 by Wies, et al., issued on Oct. 28, 1975, for Support Column and Disposable Pallet Structure are limited in the "unit weight per surface area," as well as the statics and dynamics because of a single cup supporting-like structure with no backup or inverse-like supporting structure. The mass transfer is located from a leg and interrupted rim down through the cup to a base, and does not include any like inverse supporting relationship. This has static and dynamic limitations and structural concern, and can lead to structural static and dynamic failures.
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a polymer pallet leg which includes a supporting structure and inverse supporting structure. The polymer pallet leg is of a polymer recyclable material. A pallet leg insert is provided to attach a pallet leg base for further weight distribution, conveying, or handling of the pallet system with the polymer pallet leg, the top pallet base, the bottom pallet base and the pallet leg insert.